


Family isn't Always Blood

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [21]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adoption, Biological Parents, F/M, Family Drama, Feels, Gen, Grandparents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-17 23:58:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7291384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliza doesn't remember much of her life before the girls home, before the Schuylers. While she may have thought about it she never felt the need to try and trace any of her relatives. But one of them felt it was important enough to find her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family isn't Always Blood

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi everyone this is a slight deviation from the Christmas fic, but don't worry we'll be back next Friday. In the meantime enjoy!

Late April 1994

It was a good thing that Philip was already walking, Eliza thought to herself, she couldn't carry him even if she wanted to, what with the still-growing bulge of her stomach.

"Mama?" Philip stood by where his mother sat.

"What is it sweetie?" Eliza looked down at her son.

"When we gonna see sissy?" The two year old reached out the touch her belly.

"Soon," Eliza laughed.

"How soon?" whined Philip impatiently.

Eliza was saved from replying by the ringing of their home phone. Girls weekend was coming up and even though she couldn't drink she was still looking forward to accompanying her sisters while they did and spending some time catching up. Peggy was supposed to call her to solidify their plans, so she eagerly lifted the phone without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hey Pegs," she said.

"Um, hello?"

That definitely was not Peggy's voice.

Eliza paused for a moment, "Who is this?"

"Are you Eliza Hamilton?" the voice at the other end asked.

"Yes," Eliza replied wrapping the phone cord around her finger, "who is this?"

"I'm Rosie Marks..." The woman replied.

Eliza did not recognize that name, although maybe they were trying to get ahold of Alex... But then why ask for her? It didn't make sense.

"Although maybe the name Rosanna Harrison means something to you."

"I..." Eliza paused, searching her memory, "Harrison was my last name," she said finally, "before I was adopted."

The voice of the woman on the phone wavered, as if she was beginning to cry, "My brother Chuck...Charlie...was your father."

Eliza felt frozen in place, her heart beating wildly in her ears.

"Mama?" Philip looked curiously up at his mother.

"Hush baby," Eliza ruffled the little boy's hair.

"Mrs. Hamilton?"

"How... Why?" Eliza struggled to get her words out.

"My brother, your dad, our parents kicked him out when he came home from 'Nam with you and your mom," Rosanna explained, "I kept in touch with them for a while, but after your dad died I lost contact."

Eliza had no idea what to say, someone who had actually known her biological parents? The idea seemed unreal.

When Eliza didn't speak, Rosanna went on.

"I saw your wedding announcement in the newspaper. You look so much like your mother," she sighed, "She was one of the sweetest women I have ever met. It's not a secret that you're adopted and your name, well, it's my grandmother's name. I really hoped that you were the same Eliza."

"Well it seems I am..." Eliza replied, "why did you call?"

"I wanted to meet you, and my parents... Your grandparents-"

"Yes?" Eliza bit at her lower lip.

"I want you to meet them," Rosanna finished.

"Do they want to meet me?" asked Eliza.

There was silence.

"Well..." Rosanna sighed, "I'm sure they would love you."

"Would they see me?" Eliza asked.

"I think they need to," Rosanna relied, "if you would please think about it."

Eliza swallowed, petting Philip's curls soothingly when he tugged at her shirt to get her attention.

"I'll think about it," she said.

"Great," breathed Rosanna, "Let me give you my number."

"Okay," agreed Eliza, "Hold on. Philip, can you get me a pad of paper and a pen?"

The boy rushed to comply.

"Philip?" Rosanna asked.

"My son," responded Eliza with a fond smile, "He's two."

She laughed slightly when the boy returned with a pad of paper and one of his markers.

"Thank you sweetie."

Philip grinned happily.

"What's your number?" Eliza asked

Once she'd written the number down and they said goodbye, Eliza began making Philip his lunch, her mind on the phone call that she just had. Her eyes kept straying to where she'd put the number on a fridge with a magnet.

\----------

May 1994

"Peggy and Angelica are going to be here soon," Alex walked into their bedroom holding Philip, "you about ready to go?"

"I don't think I can do this," Eliza sighed sitting back down on the bed.

Alex put Philip down.

"Go play," he told Philip.

The boy have his mother a quick hug before complying and Alex sat beside Eliza, placing her duffel bag on the floor.

"Betsey," Alex sat in the spot beside her and wrapped his arms around her, "yes you can."

Eliza leaned her forehead against his shoulder and breathed in the scent of his aftershave.

"What if they don't like me?" she murmured, feeling a bit like she was a child in the back of the car on the way to the Schuyler mansion for the first time.

"That's next to impossible," Alex soothed, "there is nothing not to like about you."

Eliza smiled slightly at that, "I hope you are right."

The apartment bell buzzed loudly.

"You can do this," Alex said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "I know you can."

Eliza pressed her lips into a thin line as Alex went to get the door.

"Auntie Peggy! Auntie 'Gelica!" Philip's voice could be heard loud and clear.

Alex shook his head.

"How many times have I told that boy not to open the front door," he sighed.

"He's excited," Eliza smiled, Philip loved his aunts and was thrilled to be seeing them.

Alex sighed and went to greet them, "Hello Schuylers!"

"That's Schuyler-Church I'll have you know!"

Alex laughed and raised his hands in mock surrender.

Eliza got up and joined them.

"Liza!" Peggy threw her arms around her older sister.

"Careful of the baby," Alex cautioned.

"A hug isn't going to hurt the baby," Eliza said, rolling her eyes fondly.

Alex flushed slightly, "I know that."

Peggy laughed, "You're cute."

"And he's mine," Eliza chided playfully.

"You can have him," Angelica scoffed.

"Auntie Peggy!" Philip tugged at his aunt's pant leg and gestured to be picked up, Peggy happily obliged and kissed him on the cheek.

"Oh my goodness you're getting so big!" Peggy gasped.

Philip giggled as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Liza are you ever going to cut his hair?" Angelica laughed, "it's almost Alex's length."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Alex frowned.

"Maybe," Eliza shrugged feeling a little better now that her sisters were here, "But aren't his curls just darling?"

"I think so," Peggy grinned.

Angelica rolled her eyes, "Alright, well if you're all packed up we should get going, after our detour to Scarsdale we've got a lot of ground to cover."

Eliza turned to get her bag but Alex was one step ahead with his coat in the other.

Eliza leaned in to embrace him and he kissed her cheek, "They'll love you," he whispered.

Eliza took her things and it was then that Philip realized what was going on.

"Mama leaving?" The little boy frowned.

"It's just for a little while," Eliza cupped his cheek in her hand, "I'll be back before you know it-"

His mother's reassuring words did nothing to soothe the onset of Philip's tears, "Okay when he cries he's all yours," Peggy passed him back to Eliza.

"Oh sweetie," Eliza rubbed his back as he buried his face in her neck, she then motioned for her sisters to take her things down to the car. "It's gonna be okay, it's only for a little while."

"Mama don't go..." Philip whimpered.

This was almost enough to convince Eliza maybe she should go another time, and Alex clearly noticed this thought going through her head.

"Hey buddy," Alex put his arm around Eliza, "aren't you excited to have all sorts of fun together just you and me?"

Philip slowly raised his head to look at his father.

"I know all sorts of things we can do while Mommy is away, doesn't that sound like fun?"

Philip's whimpers dissolved into small hiccups but he still would not let go of Eliza.

"I was thinking we could have grilled cheese tonight, that's your favorite-"

Philip perked up at that.

"Well you're going to have to let go of mama," Alex instructed, "so why don't you let her give you one big goodbye kiss and you'll let go, okay?"

Philip nodded his head.

"Okay sweetie," Eliza kissed the top of Philip's head, "see you when I get back and you can tell me about all the fun things you and daddy did."

Philip smiled and relinquished his hold on his mother as Alex took hold of him.

"Bye mama."

"Bye baby," Eliza smiled, "Bye Alex."

"Goodbye Bets," Alex smiled, "call once you get to the hotel."

With one last kiss for each of her boys, Eliza was or the door with Angelica carrying her duffle bag.

"Let's hit the road," Angelica smiled, "places to go, people to see."

"Right," Eliza said softly, "People."

Scarsdale was barely outside of New York City and Angelica followed the the map and Eliza's directions from Rosanna to a cookie-cutter house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood.

"So much lacking personality," Peggy complained, "Such boring design."

"Welcome to the suburbs ladies," Angelica sighed.

"Albany isn't even as bad as this place," Peggy wrinkled her nose, "who are you supposed to know who lives here?"

Eliza felt bad that she hadn't told her sisters who exactly she was coming to meet. It was time to reveal the truth.

"My biological paternal grandparents," she admitted.

There was a loud crinkle of paper from the map as Peggy attempted to turn to face her.

"Don't you dare tear that!" Angelica scolded.

"Liza..." Peggy ignored their oldest sister, "why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," Eliza bit her lip, "I guess I still wasn't quite sure that I was going to go through with it."

"You don't have to," Peggy said firmly, "What have they ever done for you?"

"I need to do this," insisted Eliza, "I know that I do. My biological father's sister reached out to me."

Angelica put a hand on Peggy's shoulder to stop the younger woman from saying anything more. She could be rather hot-headed and times and that wasn't what Eliza needed right now.

"Do you want us to come in with you?" Angelica asked.

"No," responded Eliza after a moment, "I need to do this by myself."

"I'll drive around the block," Angelica said, "and then we're coming to get you. If things are going well, then we'll give you more time."

"Okay," Eliza agreed with a sigh, "I love you guys."

Eliza exhaled and walked up to the house, she hesitated before ringing the bell, "You can do this," she muttered, "you can do this-"

This reminded her of reading "The Little Engine that Could" to Philip, a silly thought to have but somewhat calming.

The door opened to reveal a woman not too much older than herself.

"Eliza?" the woman asked.

Even without the normal muffled effect of the phone line Eliza could recognize the voice.

"Hello Rosanna."

Rosanna grinned and pulled Eliza into a hug, "Call me Rosie. Please."

It took Eliza a moment to return the hug, but she soon did, they then broke apart and she smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you-"

"Rosanna who is that?" A voice came from inside the house.

"Do they know I'm coming?" Eliza asked, not for the first time.

"Yes," responded Rosanna with a roll of her eyes, "She's just trying to make you feel unimportant. That's what my mom does."

Eliza wasn't sure how to feel about this, "Oh-"

"Come on in," Rosanna let her inside, "Don't want you standing outside all day."

Eliza sent a small wave in her sisters' direction before she entered.

"Who was with you?" Rosanna asked.

"My sisters," replied Eliza, "We're having a girls weekend up at Niagara Falls."

They entered a parlor front room with two sofas facing each other and an armchair to one side. There was no television, but a large bay window overlooked a lovely garden on a side of the house that had been hidden from the street. On one of the sofas sat a rather imposing looking older woman and a man who seemed close to the same age sat in the armchair, a newspaper obscuring his face.

"Mom, dad," Rosanna tried to get their attention, "Eliza is here."

Eliza stiffened as the woman seemed to be boring holes straight into her soul, "Hello."

"That's Elizabeth... Hamilton... Correct?" The woman, well Mrs. Harrison spoke each part of her name slowly and deliberately as if trying out words in a foreign language for the first time.

“Yes," Eliza replied, making herself smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mrs. Harrison gave a small, condescending sniff and gestures to the couch opposite her.

"Roger, dear," she said, "Charles'...girl is here."

Mr. Harrison lowered the newspaper. His face was at least a little more kind than Mrs. Harrison's.

"I wanted to thank you for seeing me today," Eliza spoke as she sat down on the couch, "it really does mean a lot to me."

"I suppose it must," said Mrs. Harrison in a tone that showed the meaningfulness was one-sided.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eliza asked trying to remain neutral in her feelings.

"So, what is it that you do, Eliza?" Mr. Harrison butted in before his wife could reply, "Rosanna hasn't told us much except that you're married to that Alexander Hamilton fellow."

"I have my degree in education," responded Eliza, "and I was teaching elementary school for some years. I took time off when my son Philip was born a little over two years ago. I was going to go back to it in a couple years when he starts preschool but," she smiled and absently laid a hand on her belly, "nature had other plans for us."

Mr. Harrison's face lit up, "Do you have any pictures?"

"I do," Eliza replied proudly and she started searching in her purse for them.

Taking her cue from Mr. Harrison, she ignored the small huff of protest Mrs. Harrison made and withdrew the small pocketbook of family photos she carried with her.

"There's Alex with Philip right after we brought him home," she explained, leaning across the gap between the couch and arm chair in order to show off the picture, "and here's Philip about half a year ago on his second birthday."

"That hair," Mr. Harrison laughed, "Our Charlie's would have looked exactly like that if he'd ever grown it long."

Eliza wasn't sure she'd ever seen a picture of her biological father, "Alex and I did wonder about where that came from..."

"And who're they?" Mr. Harrison asked, pointing to a picture of the three Schuyler sisters on the day they had been officially adopted.

"My sisters," Eliza said fondly, pointing to each in turn, "Angelica and Peggy. I think there's a picture of us with mother and father in front of the courthouse after the adoption."

She flipped through a few more photos of her sisters before finding it.

"Ah," Mr. Harrison said, "I recognize that face. Philip Schuyler."

At that, Mrs. Harrison sat up even straighter, " _Governor_ Schuyler?" She asked.

"Yes," Eliza said, relinquishing her photos to Mr. Harrison for him to peruse as she met Mrs. Harrison's gaze head on, "but we just call him dad."

"So you were adopted by _those Schuylers_ ," Mrs. Harrison commented, "how interesting."

Eliza did not like the way she said "those Schuylers".

"I had a wonderful childhood with them," Eliza replied coolly, "I only wish I could remember my father and mother, even if just a little bit."

"I can tell you," Rosanna piped up. She'd been standing nearby, watching and listening to the proceedings. Overall, she was quite impressed with how Eliza was handling the situation. Her niece was not easily intimidated, Rosanna thought fondly.

Eliza looked at her aunt, "I would love to know," the little bits she did know had come from when she turned sixteen and her parents took her aside and told he how she had ended up in the girls home in the first place.

It was a bit of a tradition in the Schuyler household and all three girls had gone through the process.

The doorbell rang, accompanied by several sharp knocks.

"That'll be my sisters," Eliza said, rising. She wasn't quailed by the sharp look in Mrs. Harrison's eyes, "so I'm afraid I'll have to go now."

She collected her pictures from Mr. Harrison with a warm smile.

"Thank you," Eliza smiled, "I know I've already said this but it does mean a lot to me."

"I'll keep in touch," Rosanna promised, also not bothered by her mother's sour expression, "I'd love to meet that man of yours. And little Philip."

"And I'm sure they would love to meet you," Eliza laughed, "Philip always likes meeting new people."

"He sounds like a sweet boy," Rosanna smiled.

"He is," Eliza nodded.

"I suppose you're doing well for yourself," Mrs. Harrison sniffed, "Considering your upbringing."

"You mean my wonderful sisters and adoring adoptive parents?" Eliza said sweetly, the 'without disapproving grandmothers' fully implied, "Yes I suppose I have."

With a final goodbye to the Harrisons, a happy one to Roger and a chilled one to Nora, Eliza followed Rosanna to the door. When they opened it, Angelica looked about ready to knock again and Peggy had the look that said she was ready to press the doorbell multiple times as quickly as possible.

"No need for the cavalry," Eliza laughed.

Introductions went around before Eliza bid Rosanna a final farewell. Once they had pulled out of the driveway, Peggy once again manning the map, Angelica spoke.

"So did it go well?"

Eliza hummed, "Not too bad, all things considered."

"Turn left up here," Peggy commanded then asked, "All things considered?"

"My grandmother," Eliza began, a slightly be venomous twist on the word, "is a sourpuss and I'll be glad never to talk to her again, but she doesn't scare me. I've dealt with worse."

"Burr," Angelica and Peggy chorused.

"Oh come on, he's not that bad," protested Eliza, but she was snickering.

"Oh that's right you dated Charles Lee-"

"Excuse me?" Eliza laughed, "that was one time and that was your fault."

"Nah," Angelic denied, "It was that guy I was seeing, What's-His-Name."

"Seeing," Peggy repeated incredulously, "More like fucking."

"Now who taught you that kind of language," Eliza scolded.

"You," replied Peggy sweetly.

As they merged on to the highway, the car was filled with peals of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> We love all the questions we are getting on the blog and we have since added two new members, come and send your questions to Jamie Hamilton and Jack Hamilton! Their blogs can be found here. 
> 
> Jamie- http://je-mapelle-jamie.tumblr.com/  
> Jack- http://indianajack.tumblr.com/
> 
> Everyone else is exactly where we left them.
> 
> Alex- http://sot-a-ham.tumblr.com/  
> Eliza- http://e-sky-ham.tumblr.com/  
> Angelica Schuyler Church- http://inlcudewomeninthesequel.tumblr.com/  
> Peggy van Renneslaer- http://and-peggyvanrenneslaer.tumblr.com/  
> Philip- http://philthepoet.tumblr.com/  
> Angie- http://mon-ange-hamilton.tumblr.com/  
> AJ- http://aj-dontcallmejunior.tumblr.com/  
> Theo Burr- http://pagingdoctorburr.tumblr.com/


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